Alabama coach Nick Saban said Tuesday he respects the SEC and what conference officials think is "best for the league relative to circumstances that people created for themselves" when he was asked about the Crimson Tide's interest in hiring former Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze.

Alabama coach Nick Saban smiles after his team beat Georgia to win the College Football Playoff Championship game.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Hugh Freeze as a coach," Saban said when asked about Freeze at a charity event in Mobile, Ala. "I think he did a fabulous job when he was at Ole Miss. He has been a friend that I’ve shared ideas with and spent time with and know his family, as Miss Terry does know his family. So we have a tremendous amount of respect for him."

Several news media outlets reported that Alabama wanted to hire Freeze as the program's co-offensive coordinator but it was discouraged by the SEC considering Freeze had recently parted from Ole Miss following issues with the NCAA. Freeze resigned in July after USA TODAY Sports learned Freeze's phone records showed calls to a female escort service.

"We also have a lot of respect for the SEC and what they think is, in some cases, best for the league relative to circumstances that people created for themselves," Saban said. "But I have a lot of respect for Hugh, and I think he’ll be back in our profession, and we wish him and his family the very best, and if we can do anything to help him, we’ll be happy to do that."

Ole Miss was also charged with 21 NCAA violations that dated back to time before Freeze was coaching.As a result of 21 NCAA violations, Ole Miss self-imposed a bowl ban for 2017 and a reduction of 11 scholarships over a total of four years.